Deputy PM backs massive transfer to Turkish wealth fund

By Aynur Ekiz

ANKARA (AA) - Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Monday the transfer of treasury shares to the country’s sovereign wealth fund was aimed at strengthening Turkey against possible “external interventions”.

“This is a fund to show the Turkish economy’s strength, to ensure strengthening it against external interventions, so to say, a guarantee,” Kurtulmus told reporters after a cabinet meeting in the capital Ankara.

On Sunday, the Prime Ministry said treasury shares in a number of state institutions would be shifted to the sovereign wealth fund.

These bodies included state-run lender Ziraat Bankasi, the country's stock exchange market Borsa Istanbul and the General Directorate of Post and Telegraph Organization (PTT).

Also included were Turkey’s Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), national petroleum producer TP, communication services and satellite technologies company TURKSAT, and 6.88 percent of treasury shares in telecommunication company Turk Telekom plus Turkey's official mining company Eti Maden and the General Directorate of Tea Enterprises (CAYKUR).